Federal agencies do make room in their budgets for the cost of fighting wildfires. But they’re just estimates, based on prior 10-year averages. And huge fires, like last year’s Douglas Complex in Oregon and the Beaver Creek Fire in Idaho, keep busting records.

Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden and Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo are offering a proposal in which agencies would be able to dip into an emergency account, much like FEMA does now in major disasters.

David Adler, director of the Andrus Center for Public Policy at Boise State University, says the bipartisan effort is an important recognition that fire seasons are getting more intense.

“The next question would be, does this mean that there’s increasing agreement on climate change?” says Adler. “That’s the tougher ideological hurdle to overcome.”

The plan, which President Obama intends to include in his budget, could free up to $412 million for fire prevention and fuels reduction projects.